The Rockets launched the first week of the fall sports season last week with wins by the golf, field hockey, girls' soccer and football teams.

Cross country gets its season underway at 4 p.m. today, when the Rockets entertain Natick and Norwood at Cutler Park in a Bay State Conference tri-meet as Needham has another full day of athletic events scheduled with golf hosting Milton at 3:30 at Needham Golf Club, and the field hockey and girls' soccer squads hosting Wellesley at 3:45. The boys' soccer team plays at 3:45 at Wellesley while volleyball (0-2) visits Dedham for a 4 p.m. game as they continue to try and get their first win of the Fall.

The girls' swimming and diving team will be the final squad to begin action, opening their Fall campaign one week from today with a visit from conference rival Weymouth at 7 p.m. at the Babson pool.

The golf team earned the first Rocket win of the season Tuesday afternoon at Needham Golf Club as freshman Jake Sluman went under par in his first varsity match to lead a season-opening, 70-38 win over Dedham.

The Rockets field hockey team recovered from a disappointing 1-0 road loss to Dedham in Tuesday's season opener to beat conference rival Brookline 2-0 on Friday. Junior Elizabeth Thornton scored both goals, getting assists from senior captain Katie Frascotti and senior Ariel Sherry. Senior goalie Harriet Sussman had a sensational week in the net, making 18 saves while surrendering only one score to Dedham sophomore sniper Kerrianne Downing. Junior Meaghan O'Connell and sophomore Kate Oetheimer stepped up to solidify the Rockets defensive unit which had several members sidelined with injuries to start the season.

The girls' soccer squad also defeated Brookline by a 2-0 score on Friday to kick off their season with a win while the boys' team lost to Brookline by the same score on Sunday in a game that was rescheduled from Friday.

The football team ended the week of wins with a convincing, 35-20 road win over Conference rival Miton on Saturday night. Quarterback Kevin Brenna connected with Connor Murray and Brian Tedoldi on touchdown tosses and also ran for one. Running back Matt Vespa added a pair of rushing touchdowns in the win. Needham played a near-perfect first two quarters, shutting out Milton 22-0 in the first half before Milton made a game of it in the second half.

The football team remains on the road this weekend, playing a 1 p.m. game on Sunday at Newton North. The Rockets home opener is against Norwood the following week at 7 p.m. Friday, September 24.

Coaches of all Needham and St. Sebastian's athletic teams including varsity, sub-varsity and all youth teams are encouraged to report their game results to Needham Patch. You can call me, sports editor Kevin O'Malley, at 339-222-8534, or send an email to patchsports@gmail.com, which can also be done from the "email the author" link at the top of this column.

Parents are also encouraged to show off their photography skills this season by contributing photos to any of our stories. It's as easy as sending me an email, or you clicking on the "add my photos" link that is present with every story and show us what you've got.

Information about upcoming events can also be submitted - or added to our calendar by anyone. So please, don't hesitate to use your voice and contribute your talents - after all, this is your hometown Patch.